Takedown Report

Hidlay puts wrestling world on notice

Budapest might want to check the wrestling mats for scorch marks after Trent Hidlay rolled through town. You could say the city has seen conquerors before–Attila, the Turks, the Soviets. But last weekend, it was a young man from Mifflin County with a will like a locomotive, plowing through the best the sport could throw at him. By the end, all Budapest could do was hand him gold, throw up their hands, and hope he left the place standing.
If you’ve been paying attention–if you have even a distant cousin who ever laced up wrestling shoes in the Juniata Valley–you knew this day was coming. The rest of the world found out the hard way at the Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial Ranking Series, where Hidlay painted the 92-kilo bracket red, white, and blue.
The folks in Hungary thought they were getting a friendly international exchange. What they got was a lesson in what happens when you mix Pennsylvania grit, an NCAA All-American’s engine, and a year when every time Hidlay gets on a mat, the mat starts to sweat.
They say sports are about moments. Hidlay made a weekend in July feel like D-Day with a scoreboard. He didn’t sneak up on anybody, either.
In the qualification round, he drew Abubakr Abakarov, an Azerbaijani whose name sounds like a Bond villain and wrestles like one. Hidlay beat him 7-2. … more at … https://www.lewistownsentinel.com/sports/local-sports/2025/07/hidlay-puts-wrestling-world-on-notice/

July 26, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized